Distorted
by Heartsky
Summary: Sometimes, when we become too focused on ourselves and what we want, the way we see others can become distorted. Will Ludwig realize this before he does something he regrets? Rated T to be safe.


**Hey everyone! So, there are a few things you should know before reading this one-shot.**

**If you haven't read **_**9 Things a Koopa Would Never Tell You**_** (written by me), I'd recommend you read it before reading this, because this will make a lot more sense if you do.**

**I decided not to write Ludwig's spoken parts with a German accent because my sister said it was too hard to read. So, if you imagine him with a German accent, then assume he does here, but if not, then don't. Your call.**

**My inspiration for this came from the video "A day with Bowser Jr- Two Koopas for a throne". It's a Mario animation starring Bowser Jr., and it's really well animated for a fan animation, and it's pretty funny, but Ludwig is definitely evil in it, so, yeah.**

**Aaaanyway, I hope you like it! Please review! **

The metal, spike-studded door closed with an ominous thud. The clawed hand holding the doorknob released it, leaving it dented into a strange shape from being held too hard. The hand became a fist, clenched so tightly the veins could be seen clearly. The dragon-koopa that the hand was attached to stalked across the dimly-lit room, dark emotions pulsating from his very being. He sat down stiffly at the desk at the far side of the room. After digging around in the desk for a few minutes, he pulled out an old journal and a pen. He flipped through the pages, past the entries written by the previous owner in large, unslanting script, and past his own previous entries, whose writing was much smaller and slanted to the left. He stopped when he found a blank page.

_I can't take this anymore. Dad's always showering Junior with glowing praise, saying what a wonderful child he is. That little brat doesn't deserve to be the next king. He doesn't deserve any of it. He's nothing but a little thief! He should be thrown in the dungeon to rot. He stole my throne, my status as leader among Bowser's children... I hate that little runt!_

Suddenly, the dragon-koopa's writing was interrupted by a knock at the door. A female dragon-koopa poked her head into the room. "Ludwig, it's time for supper!"

"Alright, Wendy. I will be right there." He glanced at his journal. Deciding he had nothing else to write, he got up and walked out of the room. Wendy started to follow him, but she glanced over her shoulder towards his desk. What had he been writing?

Curiosity made her turn around and walk into Ludwig's room. She noticed the open journal on his desk. "Ooh, Ludwig's secret diary!" She said to herself, snickering. "I wonder what embarrassing secrets he wrote in here!" She started to read, giggling. But what she read made her blood run cold.

_Ludwig wrote this!? I had no idea he felt so strongly. I mean, sure we're all annoyed with Junior for stealing dad's attention, but...this is different. It kind of scares me._

It wasn't even necessarily what Ludwig wrote that most frightened Wendy. It was the anger behind it, the way the words had been practically engraved into the paper. It seemed like he would go to great lengths to take back what had been his. Like he might hurt someone. Specifically Junior.

_Maybe I should tell dad about this. _Wendy turned and left the room, feeling chilled to the bone despite the fact that the castle was well heated.

…

Lemmy was sitting at the dinner table with most of his siblings. Wendy and their dad still hadn't shown up yet. Junior was bubbling over with excitement about what had happened that day. "...and I lost one of my teeth, and dad says he'll start teaching me how to drive the airship soon!"

"That is great. Just great." Ludwig responded flatly.

Lemmy leaned over to Iggy, who was sitting next to him. "What's eating him?"

Iggy shook his head. "I don't know. He's been acting more and more strangely lately."

"Yeah, he's always going off by himself. I wonder what's wrong?" Suddenly, Lemmy was sure he knew the answer. He shuddered inwardly. _He must be mad about his missing music. If he's this mad about it, I can only hope he doesn't find out I'm the one who lost it..._

Losing Ludwig's music had been an accident, but it wouldn't have happened if Lemmy had stayed out of Ludwig's room like he was supposed to, and if he hadn't gotten the bright idea to make Ludwig's sheets of music into paper airplanes. Lemmy had wished many times that he hadn't been so foolish, but wishing wouldn't help him now. The damage was done.

Bowser and Wendy abruptly entered the room. Bowser's face was creased into a worried frown, and Wendy was biting her lip. She glanced at Ludwig nervously. Lemmy tilted his head, confused. _Did she do something she doesn't want Ludwig to know about, too?_

Bowser sat down at the head of the table and Wendy sat down in the empty seat next to Lemmy. As the Koopa family started to eat, Lemmy's curiosity got the better of him.

"Psst! Wendy! What's got you all nervous?" He whispered to her.

Wendy practically jumped out of her seat. "N-nothing! I'm not nervous about anything! Leave me alone." She whispered back fiercely.

Lemmy raised his eyebrow skeptically. "You're not nervous? Yeah, right. And I'm seven foot three."

Wendy sighed heavily. "Okay, fine, you got me. I'll tell you. But not now."

Lemmy was surprised his sister had given in so easily. She must be pretty upset.

"Why not?"

"Because _he_ might overhear us." She responded, gesturing her head in Ludwig's direction.

…

"Ludwig!" A deep, growly voice called the blue-haired koopa's name.

"That must be father." Ludwig mumbled. "I wonder what he wants?" Ludwig made his way to the throne room. His father was sitting on the throne, and the rest of the family stood nearby. "What's going on?"

"Well, Morton and Roy are going to watch a wrestling match, Wendy's going to the mall, and I'm taking Lemmy, Iggy, and Larry to the circus. So I was wondering if you could watch Junior while we're gone."

Ludwig inwardly grinned at this opportunity, but his outward expression remained indifferent. "Sure. That will be fine."

"Alright, everyone. Let's go." Bowser got up from his throne and headed for the door.

Ludwig turned and watched as the rest of the family followed Bowser out the door. He noticed that Wendy and Lemmy were staring at him as they walked out of the room. They both quickly averted their eyes as soon as they realized he had noticed them. _That's strange. _But he didn't dwell on it. He had more important things to think about than how his siblings were acting.

After everyone had left the room, Ludwig turned around to find Junior sitting on the throne, grinning. "I can't wait until I'm king! Then everyone'll hafta do what I say and I won't hafta clean my room or brush my teeth! It'll be awesome!"

Ludwig narrowed his eyes. _So, now you're mocking me. Well, father's not here to protect you now. _Ludwig let out a low growl.

Bowser Jr.'s grin vanished. "Okaaaaaay," he mumbled, confused and a bit frightened at his brother's response. He clambered off of the throne. "Uh, Ludwig, is sumthin the matter?"

"Is something the matter? Why, yes, as a matter of fact." Ludwig muttered, taking a step towards Junior. "You have been a thief from the moment you were born."

"Wh-what do you mean? I've never stolen anything from anybody! Well, except when I took some of Lemmy's candy without askin', and I guess kidnapping the princess counts as stealin', but still...I'm not any more of a thief than you are."

"Don't toy with me, child. You are a rotten little thief. When you were born, you stole the throne from me. It was my birthright, and you took it from me." Ludwig took a few more steps towards Junior.

"I n-never asked for the throne. It w-was just given to me. I didn't mean to s-steal it from you." Junior backed up against the wall, trembling.

But Ludwig wasn't listening. He continued to step closer and closer to Bowser Jr.

Soon Ludwig was standing over Junior, who had begun cowering in fear. "Bowser Koopa Junior," he murmered, "I will make you wish you had _never been born!"_

Ludwig raised a claw. He blinked. He saw two big, frightened eyes staring back at him. _What am I doing?_

Ludwig blinked again. He saw tears glistening on Junior's cheeks. _What am I doing!?_

Ludwig lowered his claw. He stared at Junior numbly. Suddenly, what he saw before him was not a devilish, stealing monster. It was a scared little kid. A scared little kid that was his brother.

It was as if this were the first time Ludwig had truly seen his little brother for what he really was, without outside feelings and emotions affecting what he saw.

Ludwig sank to the floor, shaking. He buried his face in his knees. The realization of what he had almost done hit him full force, and he began sobbing.

_I wanted the throne so much; I was willing to hurt my little brother for it. _Ludwig cursed at himself for letting his anger distort the way he had seen Junior.

It was like the floodgates had opened. Ludwig couldn't stop crying for a full ten minutes.

Suddenly, Ludwig felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up. A tear-streaked Junior was standing next to him, eyebrows raised in concern. "Ludwig? A-are you okay?"

Ludwig felt an ache in his heart. After all he had said and done, Junior was worried about _him?_

"Junior," he began, the words coming out slowly and heavily, as if Ludwig's tongue was made of lead. "I'm…I'm so sorry!"

He continued haltingly, "I don't know how I let myself go so far. I was just so upset after dad decided you'd be the next king, and I let it get the better of me."

"If you really want to be king that much, I could talk to dad about it. I r-really didn't mean to…"

"No." Ludwig cut him off. "I never, ever want to be king. Never. I've proven to myself I don't deserve it. No, I think dad chose you for a reason. I mean, look at you, talking to me after how I threatened you! I can't believe you didn't run off. You're pretty brave."

Junior shook his head. "Actually, I w-was thinking of running away. I was scared. But you looked so upset…" Junior paused as if thinking hard. He was contemplating what he was about to say, wondering if it was a good idea or not.

He decided to take a leap of faith just then. "L-ludwig…do you want a hug?"

Ludwig stared at him for a moment, as if not comprehending what his brother had just said. Then he nodded and held his arms out, confused but nonetheless grateful.

…

What Ludwig and Bowser Junior hadn't realized the whole time was that they weren't alone, as they had thought. Two red eyes glittered from behind one of the pillars in the throne room. The koopa king had never left. This had been a way of testing his son to see if he would truly go through with his intentions.

Bowser had almost run out from behind the pillar to shield Junior from Ludwig and pronounce him a traitor. So many images from the past had run through Bowser's head, memories of his father, who had truly had a heart of darkness. _It's happening again, _he had thought. But then Ludwig had suddenly broken down crying on the floor.

It had been such a shock to see Ludwig standing there, claw raised, about to hurt his own brother, then suddenly collapsed on the floor sobbing uncontrollably. Never had Bowser felt such relief as he had now. Yes, Ludwig did inherit some of his grandfather's darkness, but not enough of it for him to truly be as terrible.

Bowser was actually rather ashamed he hadn't seen this coming sooner, though. He had always thought the one who would be most likely to attempt something like this would have been Morton Junior. It would have made sense; he looked like his grandfather and was named after him, and was generally the meanest and grumpiest of the children. He had always been the most vocal about his frustrations with Junior, too.

But not everyone is so expressive about their feelings. Sometimes it shows more in their mood and actions than in their words. Ludwig rarely if ever spoke against Junior. But he had been very broody and anti-social since Junior had been born, and it had reached its peak recently. How had his father not noticed that?

Bowser felt a great amount of guilt then. Guilt for doubting Morton, and for not realizing what was happening to Ludwig. He could only thank the stars that Wendy had noticed the old journal Ludwig had been writing in, which in fact, had been Morton Senior's journal.

But more than anything else, he was relieved that history would not repeat itself.

…

Moonlight leaked in through the koopaling's bedroom, just enough to outline the shapes of the various toys scattered around the room. A koopaling lay in bed, trying desperately to fall asleep, but he couldn't. The events of the day had come rushing back into his head, and he couldn't stop his brain from working overtime.

Lemmy hadn't been able to enjoy the circus at all, he couldn't, knowing the real reason for the koopaling's father's sudden decision to let them all get out of the castle to have fun. Images of Ludwig clawing Junior to pieces and being thrown in the dungeon forever kept popping into his head, and they terrified him.

Returning to the castle to find both of them intact had been a shock, but certainly a pleasant one. The change in Ludwig was immediately apparent. He was still mostly silent; but it was a timid and self-conscious silence rather than an angry and brooding silence.

The rest of the day, Ludwig and Junior had stayed out of each other's way, and obviously there was awkwardness and a hesitation between them. It would take a while for Junior's trust in Ludwig to fully mend. But there was also a sort of secret understanding between them now, a sort of look they shared when they would glance at each other from the corners of their eyes that said, "Yes, I understand you." It was something that had emerged from seeing each other's hearts laid bare.

Lemmy couldn't stop thinking about it. _If Ludwig had that much anger toward Junior, and yet he was able to move past it and get over it, maybe, just maybe…he'd forgive me for what I did with his music._

Lemmy hated keeping secrets, because he hated it when people kept secrets from him. He wished people could just be honest with each other and make things less complicated. But he had been too afraid to tell Ludwig, because he knew how angry Ludwig was about the missing music, and hadn't wanted to face that. But now, he thought maybe he could. Of course Ludwig would be angry, but he'd probably be able to get over it. Yes, tomorrow he would tell Ludwig. Tomorrow he would come clean.

Having decided what he would do gave Lemmy a sense of calmness, and he drifted off to sleep.

When he woke up the sunlight was flooding through the window. He moaned groggily and got out of bed, only to trip over a toy train. He pulled himself off the ground, suddenly fully awake, and remembered his decision from last night. _Oh, right._ He didn't feel as confident about it now, but he knew he wouldn't feel right about this if he backed down now.

Lemmy nervously combed his rainbow Mohawk, put away his toy train, brushed his teeth, and made his bed. _Wait a minute. I never make my bed. I never put away my toys. What am I doing?_

He scratched his head, but then it came to him. _I'm stalling. Well, enough of that._

He walked down a few hallways, his feet moving pretty slowly. When he reached the door to Ludwig's room, he took a deep breath. _Well, out of the frying pan and into the fire I go. I hope he won't be too mad._

Lemmy set his jaw, then turned the knob and opened the door. He stuck his head in, and saw that Ludwig was sitting at his desk, holding what looked like a journal. There was something written on the front in gold lettering. Lemmy squinted, and suddenly realized what it said: _The Journal of Morton Koopa Senior. _

Ludwig held the journal at arm's length, regarding it. Then he opened it, and, suddenly, he began ripping pages out, one by one, crumpling them, and then breathing fire on them, until the journal was nothing more than a pile of ashes.

Lemmy watched wide eyed. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he had a strange feeling that this had something to do with what had happened yesterday. Somehow it made him feel braver, so, he finally entered the room, and began speaking. "Ludwig, I have something I need to tell you…"

**And, there you have it! I hope you all enjoyed it! What is it with me and burning paper at the end of stories?! I swear I didn't plan it, it just kind of…happened. Haha, oh well. I do have plans for future Mario stories, although I'm not sure if it will be more one shots or a full story, but I want to make some progress on my other stories first, so it'll be a little while. Anyways, have a good weekend everyone!**


End file.
